It weighs 247 g, which is extraordinarily heavy for an L-plate (heavier than the EF 35 mm f/2 lens, nearly as heavy as the EF 50 mm f/1.4). So I could certainly believe it's as stiff as their old L-plates. The problem is the weight is crazy. I'm not in the market, though, so I may be underestimating the desire to use the camera with cables connected.

The price is pretty steep, too . Yes, in the overall scheme of things for a $6+K camera it may not look that bad but relative to the other L-plates, I can't help but thinking that the price is steep though.

S Dilworth wrote:
It weighs 247 g, which is extraordinarily heavy for an L-plate (heavier than the EF 35 mm f/2 lens, nearly as heavy as the EF 50 mm f/1.4). So I could certainly believe it's as stiff as their old L-plates. The problem is the weight is crazy. I'm not in the market, though, so I may be underestimating the desire to use the camera with cables connected.

The good thing is that you can use it as a normal plate (no L-plate) if you like it to be lighter. So you have both the L-plate and normal plate in this new one.
I just ordered one from a shop in Sweden. Many european shops sell RRS equipment today

Lars Johnsson wrote:
The good thing is that you can use it as a normal plate (no L-plate) if you like it to be lighter. So you have both the L-plate and normal plate in this new one.

Interesting! I had not noticed that important detail, which changes my initial reaction. I might still prefer a lighter L-plate of conventional design (the Nikon D4 L-plate weighs 153 g), but this modular design will appeal to many photographers.

RRS should show a photo of the device used as a normal plate, without the L-plate part.

matt4626 wrote:
Not sure this is a great idea. The old style L-plates from Kirk and RRS are close to perfect...if it ain't broke...and all that...

If this one is stable. And I'm sure it is. Then it have many advantages over the old L-plates. I own the older L-plates for my 1D4 and 1Ds3, but this one have many new and good features compared to those.

That is the big question. Is it stable enough? If so, great! The concern is adding mechanical interfaces secured with fasteners is not typically a recipe for stiffness. But if done well enough, it could be fine.

Personally, I do not care about use of cables other than cable release.

jcbenner wrote:
That is the big question. Is it stable enough? If so, great! The concern is adding mechanical interfaces secured with fasteners is not typically a recipe for stiffness. But if done well enough, it could be fine.

Personally, I do not care about use of cables other than cable release.

Why shouldn't this one be stable enough RRS already makes modular plates for other bodies that are stable. It's not about cables. The best features for me are that you have two plates in one. Both the regular base plate and the L-plate. And you have the Hex keys inside the plate. And you can of course use the L-plate in extended positions also

I'm not thrilled with the design. There are times when I want to be able to grab the camera off the tripod and shoot handheld with the L bracket. The thickness of the base really looks like it would interfere with the ability to shoot with the vertical grip.

Sheldon N wrote:
I'm not thrilled with the design. There are times when I want to be able to grab the camera off the tripod and shoot handheld with the L bracket. The thickness of the base really looks like it would interfere with the ability to shoot with the vertical grip.

When comparing the pics with the old style L-plate on the RRS website, I can't even see if it's thicker than the old! If it is that then we are talking about making the camera 1mm thicker or something similar.
A much bigger problem for you would be the new camera size then. Because the new 1Dx is larger than the 1Ds3 or 1D4 that it replace.

Now that we can see it, I generally like the looks of this design on the Really Right Stuff L plate for the 1DX. I had decided to go ahead and pre-order one before seeing this, and am glad I did. I agree with Lars that the bottom does not look much thicker if any. But of course the weight is up in that area becasue there is less hollow out on the bottom because of the sliding side arm.

I have a slight concern with how stable the side arm will be, and will wait to inspect things when I get one, but it is likely fine. I do like this approach much more that the design that uses two side screws to attach the side arm. I have been trusting RRS with my L plate business for a long time, and expect to continue that. I do like the capability to use just the bottom plate only, and thus the dual use will save me buying another bottom only plate. And obviously a lower weight would be nice, but I think I will survive with this. Because the 1DX is a camera that will exist in lower quanities than most other Canon's, I can see why RRS would not like to also make a light weight one piece slot adjustable L plate, but I do think there is a market for one. With little tooling needed, and using CAD design, and CNC production, the cost to offer a lighter weight L plate would not be too high, so perhaps it might happen some day. They could even work on extra machining in the design to make the weight very low, but that would keep the cost high, which is also a factor in any success of another plate.

Note the big change over all previous 1D series L plates from RRS where the side arm and its dovetail are moved forward toward the front, rather than staying way back. This puts the camera in better balance when mounted on the side arm than it was before, and likely will work out fine. They included a loop around in the design for where the remote release needs to clear, and that loop around means there is no need for a full gap in the side arm for the remote that is used in some RRS plates. But by having the side dovetail out far enough for an AS clamp to clear the remote, this plate does stick out further to the left than the previous plate for the 1D4, which in that design could be positioned to either be closer to the camera, or be out far enough to clear the remote. That makes this plate have more metal in the side arm, contributing to the weight.

The forward position of the side arm will likely not get in the way of anything, but I guess we will find out soon if it does. And that forward positon makes the side arm kind of a mini grip for your left hand, which may be nice in some cases or for some people.

I hope the real production units have the index marks for lens center on them, because I do use them some times. And for this design there only needs to be one for each leg, and they can be accurate, because there is no slot on the bottom to slide the whole plate in to different locations. This is likely photos of a prototype that did not get the index marks put on. I also hope that RRS updates their photos as required to show those, or to show any other little details that might apear over the life of the product. They have been lapse at times in the past about doing that.

Also note that there is no provision to attach a hand strap to the right side of the plate. That is not something I use, but I know some people do.

So when people get them in their hands and on their cameras, please let us all know what you think about some of the issues that have been raised so far in this thread. My plate will not be here for at least several more weeks, so I will not be of help very soon.

I don't know, I think the thickness of the plate is markedly different than the prior version. Look at the bottom of the camera, where your hand would be if you are shooting vertical with the plate on the camera. It's not going to be nearly as ergonomic (not that the prior one was great). It's also just a lot bigger/heavier, which I'm not excited about.

For me the design seems to be a step backward in useability, with a significant price hike to boot.

The camera is less thick with the L-plate inside your hand in portrait position, than it is in normal position with the grip in your hand. I just tried my 1Ds3 with the L-plate to check it. Even if it was twice as thick it would be no problem when the camera has it's portrait shutter release button in that position.
We are all different and if you don't like the L-plate you should of course not buy it. There will be other brands and designs also.
And when you talk about not being ergonomic in your hand. It's made to be used in a clamp and with a ballhead. I'm sure that if RRS made it half as thick and with half the weight, people here would complain that it was not stable enough,
Also remember that the 1DX is larger than the 1Ds3.
1DX = 158 x 164 x 83 mm
1Ds3 = 150 x 160 x 80 mm